Handedness and 23 Early Life Characteristics in 37,495 Dutch Twins

Veronika V. Odintsova; Jenny van Dongen; Catharina E.M. van Beijsterveldt; Lannie Ligthart; Gonneke Willemsen; Eco J.C. de Geus; Conor V. Dolan; Dorret I. Boomsma

doi:10.1017/thg.2023.23

Handedness and 23 Early Life Characteristics in 37,495 Dutch Twins

Veronika V. Odintsova
, Jenny van Dongen
, Catharina E.M. van Beijsterveldt
, Lannie Ligthart
, Gonneke Willemsen
, Eco J.C. de Geus
, Conor V. Dolan^*
, Dorret I. Boomsma^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

In studies of singletons, a range of early-life characteristics have been reported to be associated with handedness, but some of these associations have failed to replicate. We examined associations between 23 early life characteristics with handedness in a large sample of 37,495 5-year-old twins. We considered three definitions of handedness: left-handedness (LH), mixed-handedness (MH), and non-right-handedness (NRH). Our main aim was to test whether the associations with sex, birth weight, gestational age, and season of birth - as reported in singletons - replicate in twins, and to examine twin-specific variables, including zygosity, chorionicity, birth order, and intertwin delivery time. Compared to previously published data from adults born as singletons (7.23%), the prevalence of NRH was higher in both twins (16.19%) and their parents (15.09%). In the twins, LH and NRH were associated with parents' LH. Male sex and lower gestational age were associated with NRH, and LH was associated with not being breastfed. MH was related to neurodevelopmental delays and higher externalizing problems later in childhood. Other previously reported associations were not replicated, and no twin-specific characteristics were related to handedness. These results emphasize the importance of considering multiple definitions of handedness and indicate a small number of replicated associations across studies.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	199-208
Number of pages	10
Journal	Twin Research and Human Genetics
Volume	26
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/thg.2023.23
Publication status	Published - Jun 2023

Bibliographical note

Published online: 23 July 2023.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of International Society for Twin Studies.

Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMW) grants: Twin family database for behavior genomics studies (NWO 480-04-004); Twin research focusing on behavior (NWO 400-05-717); Genotype/phenotype database for behavior genetic and genetic epidemiological studies (ZonMw Middelgroot 911-09-032); ‘Why some children thrive’ (OCW Gravity program – NWO-024.001.003); Netherlands Twin Registry Repository: researching the interplay between genome and environment (NWO-Groot 480-15-001/674); Spinozapremie (NWO- 56-464-14192) and KNAW Academy Professor Award (PAH/6635) to DIB; Amsterdam Public Health (APH) and Amsterdam Reproduction & Development (AR&D). We thank professor Chris McManus for his feedback on the manuscript.

Funders	Funder number
ZonMw	NWO-024.001.003, Middelgroot 911-09-032, NWO 480-04-004, 400-05-717
NWO-Groot	NWO- 56-464-14192, 480-15-001/674
Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen	PAH/6635
???publication-publication-funding-organisation-not-added???	480-04-004

Keywords

early life factors
externalizing problems
handedness
neurodevelopmental delay
prenatal factors
twins

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10.1017/thg.2023.23

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Cite this

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title = "Handedness and 23 Early Life Characteristics in 37,495 Dutch Twins",

abstract = "In studies of singletons, a range of early-life characteristics have been reported to be associated with handedness, but some of these associations have failed to replicate. We examined associations between 23 early life characteristics with handedness in a large sample of 37,495 5-year-old twins. We considered three definitions of handedness: left-handedness (LH), mixed-handedness (MH), and non-right-handedness (NRH). Our main aim was to test whether the associations with sex, birth weight, gestational age, and season of birth - as reported in singletons - replicate in twins, and to examine twin-specific variables, including zygosity, chorionicity, birth order, and intertwin delivery time. Compared to previously published data from adults born as singletons (7.23\%), the prevalence of NRH was higher in both twins (16.19\%) and their parents (15.09\%). In the twins, LH and NRH were associated with parents' LH. Male sex and lower gestational age were associated with NRH, and LH was associated with not being breastfed. MH was related to neurodevelopmental delays and higher externalizing problems later in childhood. Other previously reported associations were not replicated, and no twin-specific characteristics were related to handedness. These results emphasize the importance of considering multiple definitions of handedness and indicate a small number of replicated associations across studies.",

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author = "Odintsova, \{Veronika V.\} and \{van Dongen\}, Jenny and \{van Beijsterveldt\}, \{Catharina E.M.\} and Lannie Ligthart and Gonneke Willemsen and \{de Geus\}, \{Eco J.C.\} and Dolan, \{Conor V.\} and Boomsma, \{Dorret I.\}",

note = "Published online: 23 July 2023. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of International Society for Twin Studies.",

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AU - van Beijsterveldt, Catharina E.M.

AU - Ligthart, Lannie

AU - Willemsen, Gonneke

AU - de Geus, Eco J.C.

AU - Dolan, Conor V.

AU - Boomsma, Dorret I.

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Handedness and 23 Early Life Characteristics in 37,495 Dutch Twins

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Bibliographical note

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Keywords

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